Volume 21, Numbers 3/4 1996

Special Issue: Cataloging and Classification Standards and Rules

Table of Contents

Single or multiple copies of these articles may be obtained on Informaworld

What Makes a Standard? BySally McCallum (Library of
Congress)
SUMMARY. The author describes the characteristics of de jure standards developed by
the formal standards organizations, ISO, ANSI, and NISO, and formal industry groups, and defacto
standards developed by informal, self-selected groups and companies. A comparison with
the process used to develop Internet standards is made. Three key standards for the
Library community are examined against this background: those that form the basis for
encoding bibliographic data (MARC), electronic documents (SGML-based), and for ordering
and purchasing bibliographic items (EDIFACT-based).

IFLA and International Standards in the Area of Bibliographic Control. ByRobert P. Holley (Library and Information Science Program, Wayne State
University)
SUMMARY. The Division of Bibliographic Control of the International Federation of Library
Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has taken an active role in standard setting to
foster universal bibliographic control (UBC). UBC is built upon the assumption that a
national cataloging agency will catalog national imprints and then share the records
nationally and internationally. Standards in support of UBC include the International
Standard Bibliographic Descriptions, UNIMARC, authority lists, and miscellaneous
guidelines. The IFLA standard setting process requires consensus building and compromise
among the various traditions of bibliographic control. The increasing importance of
library networks and the internationalization of bibliographic control may reduce the
importance of IFLA as a standard setting body.

Internationalizing the Rules in AACR: Adopting and Translating AACR for Use in
Non-Anglo-American and Non-English-Speaking Cataloging Environments. By
Barbara Stern( Los Angeles County Law Library)INTRODUCTION. Many English-speaking and non-English-speaking
countries have adopted the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd Editionafter
both its 1978 publication and its 1988 revision. Indeed, it has been translated into
fourteen languages.This study examines some of the reasons why AACR has
been internationally adopted and some of the problems encountered by various countries
attempting to adapt it to a non-Anglo-American environment or translate it for a
non-English-speaking environment. We examine whether AACR can be revised into a universal
code or whether it must coexist with one or more other codes. We then examine the
experiences of various countries that have adopted AACR2.

The Evolution of LCRIs - From De Facto Standard to? By Kay Guiles,
Robert Ewald, and Barbara Tillett (Library of Congress)
SUMMARY. This paper describes the evolution of Library of Congress Rule Interpretations
(LCRIs) from what initially was internal documentation prepared for the use of
descriptive catalogers at the Library of Congress to their status as a defacto national
cataloging standard today and explores the role they may play in the cataloging of the
future.

The Development of the MARC Format. By Karen M. Spicher (College of
Library and Information Services, University of Maryland. Ms. Spicher was selected as a
1995 Junior Fellow by the Library of Congress Manuscript Division)
SUMMARY. Use of machine-readable cataloging data requires a commitment to the
standardization of data elements and record formats. Early machine-readable formats were
initiated by several research libraries to serve the needs of particular university
systems. In developing MARC, the Library of Congress drew on the experiences of these
libraries in establishing a standard acceptable to the research library community for the
interchange of bibliographic data. This article discusses early machine-readable formats
influencing MARC, the origins of the MARC Pilot Project, and design factors influencing
the evolution of the format through MARC II. Research was based on primary sources
documenting the early history of MARC, including unpublished documents in the Library of
Congress Archives.

The Core Bibliographic Record and the Program for Cooperative Cataloging. By
Sarah E. Thomas (Library of Congress)
SUMMARY. The Program for Cooperative Cataloging seeks to increase the availability of
unique records created in a decentralized fashion by a network of libraries according to
mutually acceptable standards. A critical element in achieving its mission is the core
bibliographic record, a cataloging record that embodies the principles of usefulness,
cost-effectiveness, and dynamism. The PCC intends that Program records, full or core,
represent acceptable bibliographic control such that record "tweaking" at the
local level is minimized. Emphasis is on essential description and on the development of
trust in others' bibliographic records, obviating the need for expensive revision and
leveraging scarce cataloging resources for grappling with an expanding universe of
challenges.

Meta-Information Structures for Networked Information Resources. By Casey
Palowitch (University of Pittsburgh) and Lisa Horowitz(University of
Pennsylvania)
SUMMARY. This article develops a model of meta-information architectures (header, local
index, and directory) and presents three current or proposed meta-information structures
for networked in-formation resources with applicability to organization and access in
libraries and networked information environments. Special emphasis is given to the Text
Encoding Initiative's TEI Header and Independent Header as a model for meta-information
for academic and library needs. Recommendation is made for the specification of a
generalized SGML meta-information header based on the principles of the TEI Independent
Header, to address the needs of cataloging, automatic processing, and serving of networked
information resources.

Standards for Name and Series Authority Records. By Judith A. Kuhagen
(Library of Congress)
SUMMARY. This article discusses the data content standards of authority work reflected in
name and series authority records in the national authority file. It looks at how the
standards have affected the content of the file and how the file's evolution from LC's
local authority file to a national resource authority file has affected the standards.
Difficult management issues are noted.

The author thanks her division chief, Barbara B. Tillett, and her colleagues Robert
Ewald, Kay Guiles, and Diane Hums for their advice and assistance in the writing of this
paper.

Standards and Rules for Subject Access. By Nancy J. Williamson
(Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto)
SUMMARY. Standardization of subject access to bibliographic information systems is an
important factor in national and international networking, cooperation, and exchange of
bibliographic data. Standards, guidelines, and rules are needed to ensure consistency and
quality in the design, development and application of indexing languages to documents and
their citations. This paper defines the terms "standards" and
"guidelines" as they apply to subject analysis used in library catalogs and
bibliographic databases. It identifies and discusses the most important national and
international "standards" that influence subject access to bibliographic data.
Included are the tools of subject cataloging which have become standards in their own
right, as well as formally prepared and approved guidelines. Each "standard" or
"guideline" is described in terms of its origins, characteristics, and control
and its importance in the design of bibliographic retrieval systems. Emphasis is given to
the importance of the relationship between alphabetic and systematic access.

Automating the Library of Congress Classification Scheme: Implementation of the USMARC
Format for Classification Data. By Rebecca S. Guenther (Library of Congress)
SUMMARY. Potential uses for classification data in machine readable form and reasons for
the development of a standard, the USMARC Format for Classification Data, which allows for
classification data to interact with other USMARC bibliographic and authority data are
discussed. The development, structure, content, and use of the standard is reviewed with
implementation decisions for the Library of Congress Classification scheme noted.
The author examines the implementation of USMARC classification at LC, the conversion of
the schedules, and the functionality of the software being used. Problems in the effort
are explored, and enhancements desired for the online classification system are
considered.

Recent Research on the Sequential Bibliographic Relationship and Its Implications for
Standards and the Library Catalog: An Examination of Serials. By Gregory H.
Leazer (Department of Library & Information Science, University of California, Los
Angeles)
SUMMARY. Recent work on bibliographic relationships is evaluated. Tillet's taxonomy of
bibliographic relationships and Smiraglia's taxonomy of the derivative bibliographic
relationship provide the context for a discussion of recent research and standards work.
Research on the sequential relationship drawn from work conducted on serials is evaluated,
and the implications of that research is applied to catalog system design. Leazer's and
Gorman's conceptual designs are evaluated, and are used in a critique of the USMARC format
for bibliographic description.